The growing field of Medical or Health Humanities uses methods of humanistic inquiry to analyze cultural practices and products related to health and illness. Subjects of study may be as diverse as patients’ narratives of their own illness, medical portraiture, the history of epidemics, or ethical and philosophical debates about standards of care. The field is inherently cross-disciplinary and collaborative: as just one example, scholars of literature may partner with health scientists, using narrative to better understand the experiences of aging and dementia. Applications of the Health Humanities include, but are not limited to, installations and creative projects, research studies, the education of undergraduate and medical students, and policy development.

The Health Humanities Laboratory, supported by the Glasscock Center for Humanities Research, is a multi-disciplinary group that studies emerging debates in the Health Humanities. During the year of 2017-2018, the Laboratory is holding a One-Year Seminar in Health Humanities, which will address the “Future of Healthcare” from an interdisciplinary perspective. Four main themes that will be covered as part of the seminar topic include 1) Global Health and the Humanities; 2) Women’s Health; 3) Visualizing Health and Illness and 4) Narrative Medicine. You are welcome to attend Seminar meetings and the Spring symposium. To become involved further in upcoming events and initiatives, please contact the Laboratory convenor, Dr. Jessica Howell, at tamuhealthhumanities@gmail.com.